Atlantean
The ''Homo mermaniOften referred to as "Atlanteans", as it is in the city of Atlantis that their first known complex society emerged. are a genetic offshoot of mainstream ''Homo sapiens that, by unknown means, acquired various bodily attributes enabling them to live beneath the sea. History Atlantis itself had been a small above ground continent with many human settlements, when an event 10,000 years ago called the "Great Cataclysm" caused it to be submerged into the sea. 2,000 years later, a group of Homo mermani made the ruins of of Atlantis their home and went on to develop a society there using as much of the material as they could scavenge from the wreckage. 500 years after the settlement of Atlantis, another group of Homo mermani left Atlantis to found their own city (this time in a part of the ruins of another continent submerged during the Great Cataclysm), Lemuria, in the Pacific Ocean. These "lemurians" would discover the Serpent Crown in the ruins of their city, and through their Leader Naga's exposure and extensive use of the ancient mystical device, they would become more serpent-like in appearance than their atlantean cousins. During the 20th century the Homo mermanus race began to come into sustained contact with their human cousins. These contacts have often been hostile, and have included many aborted invasions and even separate occasions when large numbers of Homo mermani were rendered comatose or sterilized for periods. However, not all interactions between Homo sapiens and Homo mermanus have been hostile - during the 1920s a Homo mermani female, princess Fen of Atlantis mated with the human captain Leonard McKenzie - a union which produced the first human/atlantean hybrid - Namor, the Sub-Mariner. During World War II, the Kingdom of Atlantis the Axis Powers in alliance with the Allied Powers. Biology Atlanteans possess twin gills located on their necks near the clavicle bone, which enable them to extract oxygen from the water. They possess physiologies far stronger and more durable than their surface counterparts, which enable them to withstand the vast water pressure at the ocean's bottom as well as the pressure changes encountered traveling from one depth to another. Compared to the average air-breather, the average Atlantean is about ten times stronger. The average Atlantean can swim at a maximum speed of 30 miles per hour. Atlanteans are warm-blooded, and their blood circulation is superior to that of land-dwellers, enabling them to withstand the near-freezing temperatures of the ocean depths with minimal discomfort. Atlanteans have specially-adapted eyes possessing vision more sensitive to the green portion of the spectrum. This enables them to see more acutely in the dimly lit ocean depths. Atlanteans need water in order to breath, and will suffocate in open air in about five minutes, though Fen, Namor's mom, used a potion that allowed her to breathe air for five hours, but eventually began to breathe air and underwater permanently. Atlantean skin tends to be light blue in color, although certain individuals are darker. Atlanteans possess residual body hair primarily on their heads, a holdover from their surface-dwelling ancestry. Despite their various marine characteristics, Atlanteans are mammals: they bear their young live and care for them during infancy. Although rare, it is possible for an Atlantean and an air breather to mate. The physical characteristics such an offspring will inherit are subject to genetic chance. In the known cases of such matings, the offspring acquired the capacity to breath in both air and underwater. The life expectancy of an Atlantean is about 150 years. Reproduction The Atlanteans, as their cousins the Lemurians, have proved to be fertile with humans, and generate from those unions mutant hybrids, fertile or not: As hybrids, the Human-Atlantean aren't all able to reproduce: Namora has been unable to reproduce with Talan, a pure-blooded atlantean. She is then supposed to be a sterile hybrid, leading to her cloning in order to create a child. But Namor have shown in many realities to be able to reproduce with atlanteans (Dorma, Abira), mutated humans (Susan Storm) or even aliens with the Plodex Marrina. Mutants Many mutants and powered beings are born among the Atlanteans. Their true biological nature is quite unknown, but were stated to be atlantean mutants Crosta and Attuma (Earth-2189). Those mutants aren't to be confused with the human/atlantean hybrids mutants, which their mutancy is supposed or confirmed to came from an X-Gene, developed within the human genetics. Society Feeding Ecology and Diet Atlanteans subsist on raw fish and seaweed. They are largely a hunter/gatherer society, who have made successful attempts to farm seaweed. In most of the Atlanteans tribes, males hunt for fish and females gather seaweed. In the monarchy of the Atlantean capital, society is stratified so that there is a special guild of hunters and gatherers who provide food for the entire population. This frees the rest of the society for other pursuits, such as the advancement of culture. Language Atlanteans communicate by a range of high-pitched vocal sounds and elaborate "signing" gestures. A more varied spoken language is not possible due to the inherent limitations of sound transmission through water. Government Atlantean government has traditionally been tribal, although the citizens of the capital city of Atlantis have adopted the stylings of a monarchistic republic from their long-dead surface predecessors. Besides an ancestral monarch, Atlantis has a Council of Elders, who serves as the judiciary and legislative branch of government. Atlantis has a standing militia who perform police functions in times of peace. Although the monarchy of Atlantis claims all Homo mermani dwelling in the Atlantic Ocean as its subjects, the monarchy provides no services, protection or demands tribute from those who live beyond one day's swim from the capital. Most Homo mermani continue to live tribally. The largest grouping of Atlanteans in the Atlantic Ocean outside the capital city are ruled by the barbarian warlord Attuma. Population It is not known precisely how many Atlanteans there are in the world today. The number is believed to be fewer than ten thousand, an extremely small figure when compared to the surface human population of more than seven billion. About two thousand live in the capital city of Atlantis and its immediate vicinity. Others live in small enclaves from pole to pole. Culture, Technology and Habitat Most Atlanteans live in caves on the ocean floor or the submerged portions of coral reefs. The inhabitants of the capital city of Atlantis live in the ruins of the ancient city. Because there can be no fire under water, the Atlanteans have lacked the capacity to forge steel or burn fossil fuel for energy. Because of the aquatic medium in which they live, they were also unable to isolate or mix chemicals. Consequently, the Atlanteans never developed a native technology beyond that of flint tool making. Swords and armaments used in warfare were largely salvaged from the ruins of surface Atlantis or sunken ships of human construction. It is only in the past century, through interaction with scientists of the non-human Deviant race, that any form of advanced technology was developed. Astronomy, chemistry, biology, and physics remain virtually unknown sciences. Medicine has remained primitive, with drugs unheard of and surgery impossible under water. No system of mass communication has ever been developed, nor any means of mass transit. With Deviant technology, Atlanteans built their first warships at the outbreak of World War II. The culture of the tribal Atlanteans remains primitive, with ritualistic dance and storytelling at its core. The culture of monarchic Atlantis is slightly more sophisticated, with its class or guild of entertainers. The religion of most tribal Atlanteans is pantheistic nature-worship. The state religion of monarchic Atlantis holds in reverence the Greek god of the sea Neptune, who once lived among the Atlanteans some two millennia ago before leaving them. The Atlantean Empire in many ways resemble the ancient Roman Empire at its zenith. 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